Hello Everyone!
Wow, another week has come and gone. It felt like just yesterday that I was emailing you! But now it's a week later. And I feel like I say that at the beginning of like all my emails..maybe I'll just make it a tradition. First, I better get this off my chest. I may have unintentionally lied to you last week in my email. About two or three hours after I sent my email, I was released as district leader..So yeah. Please accept my apology.
So lets see...we got our travel plans this past Friday! So now we know everything (well, mostly everything.) that will be happening within a week! I was going to make the subject of this email, "I've got, One ticket to paradise" but I figured that since I've used play on song lyrics for the past couple of weeks as my subject, that I better switch things up a little. So each week here at the MTC on wednesdays, we have what is called TRC. You basically meet with members and teach them in French. But last week, because we only had two Wednesdays left, we were scheduled to Skype with a member from France! We taught this guy who was definitely the typical Frenchman. You know, the mustache and beard, speaks really fast, and all that good stuff. We taught him a pretty short lesson on prayer, because he had to be somewhere, but I thought it was a good experience for us. My companion didn't enjoy it as much, because during the lesson he tried to tell a personal experience from his past, but I think the emotion from the story was lost in translation somewhere, so the French guy thought that my companion was telling him that reading the Book of Mormon is hard.
So at the end of the lesson, he spoke to us in English, with his very thick french accent saying, "Elder, do not tell people that reading the book of mormon is hard, it's easy. Don't be so negative." He didn't like that very much. But now there's always tomorrow for another round of TRC skype.
I don't think I could complete one of my emails without telling a story of something weird that happened in my sleep the past week. So here's this weeks story: I don't remember what night it happened, but apparently I was sleeping, when all of a sudden I sat up quickly. All the Elders thought that I was awake, when I suddenly pointed up towards the sky and said, "Oh my gosh! Holy Cow! Holy Cow! Holy Cow!" That's when Elder Blackham said, "Elder Hamilton, go to bed" In which I slowly laid back down on my pillow for the rest of the night. Man, I'm a strange sleeper.
We started playing a game this week in our district. It's called Le Vrai Francais (The True French). We all draw a slip of paper from a stack, and if you get a slip that says you are Le Vrai Francais, then you are the Vrai Francais for the day. (Weird how that works.) But the point of the game is to try and convince as many people as you can that you are the Vrai Francais by speaking as much french as you can. You get as many points as how many people vote for you at the end of the day. And if you are the Vrai Francais, then you get double the amount of points as how many people voted for you. Plus you get one point if you guess right on who the Vrai Francais is. Wow, was that confusing? If it was, then just know that it's a pretty fun game. Even if it has missionaries lying to each other about who the real Vrai Francais is.
On Friday we had service in the morning. No Mikaela this week, so we had to clean bathrooms. (Thanks a lot Mikaela. Haha, Jk.) I guess I can forgive her, because she did slip a note into my mailbox letting me know about the gender of their baby! Congrats on the girl! Ah, this week I had my first experience teaching the Law of Chastity to one of our investigators. Jean-Piérre has a family. He has 3 kids, but only with his girlfriend. So that was a new experience. We thinks marriage is a good idea now, so I guess he liked what we were saying in our lesson. On saturday, we had zone teaching, which happens everysaturday. I actually really like them, and look forward to them.
This week's was about following up on commitments. Those lessons are always really good. That might be because they are in English, and I can understand about 100% of what is being said. Sunday was great, just as always! We spent the morning studying. After lunch we had Priesthood, Sacrament, just like usual. Then we went on our 2nd to last Sunday walk! We only have one more! It's weird! Then we decided to go to choir. We sang Nearer My God to Thee. I learned something new! That song is the story of Jacob. (Isaac's Son) The choir director here always tells us how and the story behind the song. It was so cool. Then at the devotional that night I saw Maxy! Oh, I mean Elder Saunders! It was so fun to see him again, and I bet I'll see him again at tonight's devotional because the west campus Spanish speaking Elders always come up here for devotionals. I'll probably get the chance to see Mark and Max one more time before I depart for France.
Ah, Monday was nice because we got to host senior couples! Host basically means just show them to their rooms and carry their luggage. Senior couples are awesome though. They are just so fun to talk to! I was happy that we got to do that! And now I think that brings me to today! Today I got a haircut. Actually, all my hairs cut. But I was pretty nervous about it because this was my first ever haircut that I didn't have my mama there to tell the barbershop lady how to cut my hair, but I think it looks good, so I guess I learned well from her. And to be honest, if my biggest worry right now is what I'm going to tell the barbershop lady, then I'm in pretty good shape.
Oh yeah, I am going to France in a week too. I guess I'm worried about that too. But I'm more excited than worried! Okay, I've held off long enough. I bet you are all just dying to know about my travel plans? I guess I'll tell you. So we leave next Monday! (The 18th) We report to the travel office at 11:30 in the morning, and our flight leaves about 4:30 or 5 that day. And...it is a direct flight to Paris! SLC to Paris! Non-stop 10 or 11 hour flight! It should be fun! And I do get to call from the airport, so if you want to talk to your boy, then be expecting a call Monday sometime in the middle of the day..or if you don't want to talk to me, then just ignore all calls that day. But I might cry if you don't answer. I don't know when I'll get a chance to email again..I do have a small box of stuff that I am not going to need, and I was thinking maybe I could just give it to Mikaela on Friday during service if shes going to be there? Maybe if she could write me a dear elder and let me know..that would be great. Otherwise I'll just send it home. Well, each day on the mission is amazing. It's pretty weird though, because I feel like each day I'm forgetting more and more about my past..each day we learn so much with French and this amazing Gospel that sometimes it feels like I've been here my whole life, and this is all I've known. But then I look at the pictures I have and remember what an amazing family and what amazing friends I have back home! Thank you for all that you do!
Lots of Love,
Elder Hamilton
Lots of Love,
Elder Hamilton